Inflatable restraint devices commonly called airbags are standard equipment on most new vehicles. Initially, vehicles were equipped with airbags that would deploy from forward-facing regions such as the steering wheel and the passenger side of the instrument panel. As consumers' concerns for safety have increased, additional airbags have been employed in different areas of the vehicle. Side-curtain airbags have been proposed to compensate for the lack of a crush zone and energy dissipation capacity in the sides of vehicles. Side-curtain airbags have been employed or stored in areas of the roof rail and headliners or in the side doors. These airbag devices are typically concealed from occupant view by interior trim panels associated with the roof rod and/or headliner.
Because side curtain airbags are disposed under or adjacent to interior trim panels, there is a possibility that the airbag may become caught on an interior trim panel, preventing complete deployment of the side curtain airbag. Currently, vehicles including side curtain airbags include a guide feature that allow the side curtain airbags to inflate completely by guiding the inflating curtain past and over the B-pillar as the side curtain airbag pushes the headliner outward and out of the way of the side curtain airbag. In some vehicles, the guide feature is provided in the form of a sheet metal bracket or a plastic bracket that that bridges the top end of the B pillar. However, it would be desirable to eliminate the need to provide a separate bracket for this purpose.